Tuesday, September 25, 2012
It's Fall, so Think Spring!
I know, it's been a long hot summer and some of you may be getting to the point of the year where you're thinking about winter and being able to put your lawn mower away for a while, but this is when you need to be thinking about your lawn for next year. So, hang in there and make sure to do the following before you put your lawn mower and other gardening tools away for winter months and come next Spring you will be glad you didn't call it quits too soon.
1. Summer temperatures are behind us, so now you will want to cut your lawn to a shorter height. You do not want to leave your grass long in the winter as the snow will compact the longer grass and reduce circulation in your lawn and may ultimately cause certain lawn diseases come next spring. So lower your mower deck so that you cut your lawn to about 2 1/2 inches in length
2. Rake those leaves! Luckily I live in a new development so the trees aren't mature enough to produce mass quantities of leaves, but you do want to make sure that you remove the leaves that you do have from your lawn. With the snow on top of the leaves, which are ultimately on top of your grass, this will also contribute to the reduction of the circulation in your soil and make your lawn prone to mold, which will produce those unsightly yellow patches next spring. Raking is the best route, but if you don't have too many leaves a good mulching lawn mower will do the trick.
3. Have you aerated your lawn? Aerating puts holes into your lawn and this provides better water, nutrient absorption & enhances oxygen levels which stimulates root growth. While buying an aerator isn't feasible for a lot of homeowners, you can check with a local hardware or rental store and you could go in with a group of neighbors and rent one for the weekend and your whole neighborhood could benefit from this.
4. Apply gypsum! Over time the soil becomes very compacted, or in the case of my lawn I live in an area where a lot of clay makes up a lot of our "soil". Whatever the case is, you want to make a habit of aerating your lawn. A lot homeowners in our neighborhood had their sod laid on top of clay and very little black soil. It has been a 7 year process of aeration & application of gypsum to break that clay down so that my lawn can thrive in the hot summer months. Gypsum is very inexpensive (bought mine this past weekend for $8.99/bag) and it should be applied to your lawn at least once a year (fall and/or spring, for best results do both). This works in breaking down the clay so that water and nutrients can flow to the roots of your grass.
5. Over-seed your lawn: No matter how much TLC you give your lawn, grass inevitably will die. Grass will start to slow down after only 5 or 6 years, so you need to replenish the grass that eventually doesn't come back. So, over-seed your lawn every fall, more specifically late August or (preferably) September. The nights are nice and cool and the days aren't too hot, but warm enough to provide ideal conditions for germination of your new grass seed. (Please see my post on over-seeding to get the details on how to do this properly).
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
To Over-Seed or Not to Over-Seed?
That is the question and the short answer is a resounding YES! Many homeowners spend a lot of money on lawn care companies to come and fertilize their lawns and they will also run up large water bills to keep their lawns green, but many homeowners skip one of the easiest steps to maintaining a thick and lush green lawn.
That step is called over-seeding, and below I will take you through the simple process and you will wonder why didn't I do this before?
Did you know that in only 5-6 years grass will slow down in production? This means that grass will die off or won't grow back nearly as thick as it did the first couple years. So, how old is your house or how long has it been since it's been over-seeded? I recommend doing this every fall, but you want to make sure you do it at least every couple of years to ensure you have new grass growing to compensate for the grass that dies off or grows back thinner, which makes it prone to more unsightly weeds.
Step 1: Cut your lawn shorter (we're in the fall now), you can afford to cut it shorter because it isn't as hot during the days and the nights are cooler, so the natural shade of longer grass isn't necessary. I typically don't want to bag my lawn clippings, but this is the one time you want to make sure that you do it. Seedlings need to have direct contact with the soil, so make sure the debris is picked up from the mowing so that when you spread the seed, it increases the likelihood of getting to the soil.
Step 2: Get out your broadcast spreader (or borrow/rent one). The grass seed you buy will indicate what setting you will need to set your spreader at. You want to make sure you don't spread the new seed too thin, you want to make you use a lot of seed to increase the number of grass seeds that will germinate and take root.
Step 3: WATER, WATER, WATER!! If you let the seed get dry, it will not germinate. You want to make sure you water your lawn twice a day for two weeks. This is the step that most homeowners don't like to do or think they can slack on, but without providing the environment for those seedlings to take off, step 1 & 2 were a complete waste of your time.
This is one of those jobs that you will not see an immediate impact, but if done on an annual basis you will continue to see thick, healthy lawns for years to come.
That step is called over-seeding, and below I will take you through the simple process and you will wonder why didn't I do this before?
Did you know that in only 5-6 years grass will slow down in production? This means that grass will die off or won't grow back nearly as thick as it did the first couple years. So, how old is your house or how long has it been since it's been over-seeded? I recommend doing this every fall, but you want to make sure you do it at least every couple of years to ensure you have new grass growing to compensate for the grass that dies off or grows back thinner, which makes it prone to more unsightly weeds.
Step 1: Cut your lawn shorter (we're in the fall now), you can afford to cut it shorter because it isn't as hot during the days and the nights are cooler, so the natural shade of longer grass isn't necessary. I typically don't want to bag my lawn clippings, but this is the one time you want to make sure that you do it. Seedlings need to have direct contact with the soil, so make sure the debris is picked up from the mowing so that when you spread the seed, it increases the likelihood of getting to the soil.
Step 2: Get out your broadcast spreader (or borrow/rent one). The grass seed you buy will indicate what setting you will need to set your spreader at. You want to make sure you don't spread the new seed too thin, you want to make you use a lot of seed to increase the number of grass seeds that will germinate and take root.
Step 3: WATER, WATER, WATER!! If you let the seed get dry, it will not germinate. You want to make sure you water your lawn twice a day for two weeks. This is the step that most homeowners don't like to do or think they can slack on, but without providing the environment for those seedlings to take off, step 1 & 2 were a complete waste of your time.
This is one of those jobs that you will not see an immediate impact, but if done on an annual basis you will continue to see thick, healthy lawns for years to come.
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